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“A man [has] an absolute right to be (on the road) and it is a duty of drivers of vehicles not to run him down” (Craig v Glasgow Corporation (1919) 35 TLR 214). In the old times, when car travel was beyond imaginable and pedestrians and horses ruled, this was the prominent view for pedestrians’ liability. However, now that car travel is the norm, the modern approach places more responsibilty on the pedestrian to exercise due care when stepping off the kerb.

Although the Highway code is often viewed as guidance for drivers, the first 33 paragraphs relate to the rights and duties of pedestrians; for example, ‘pavements should be used if provided’ and ‘wear or carry something light-coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight conditions’. The former is common sense to many but the latter is arguably questionable. How many people think of choosing their brightly coloured clothing to wear on a dark depressing day or at night when going to the theatre, just incase they need to walk on the road?

The most famous set of rules for a pedestrian’s duty is contained within rule 7 and is the message that has been bombarded to us at school and throughout the media for so many years – The Green Cross Code. 
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Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (commonly abbreviated to PTSD) is a serious condition that can have a range of difficult affects on the sufferer. PTSD is a psychological condition that is often serious when formally diagnosed. In some ways it can be a bit of a step up from anxiety, and is often linked with conditions relating to depression.

It can be caused by a multitude of things, and it is recognised as an ‘injury’ that can be claimed for in a personal injury case. Normally the cause is related to a singular or series of events or occurrences that has some form of adverse psychological effect on you – for example, a near death experience, or witnessing a horrific and / or violent incident.

Being involved in an accident itself when severe enough can leave you suffering from PTSD – being hit by a lorry on a motorway, causing your car to spin out of control and flip several times could easily cause it. For those brief seconds that feel like years as everything falls in to slow motion, you convince yourself you are going to die, and panic sets in…
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Some motorcyclists feel that car drivers are inconsiderate towards them on the roads, and to be honest, the number of accidents involving cars and motorcyclist shows that this is probably true.

Although a car driver is not always at fault for an accident with a motorcyclist, most of the time they are due to the basic fact that car drivers do not look out carefully enough for motorcyclists when making a manoeuvre.

The most common circumstance is that of a car driver waiting at a junction to pull out onto a main road, not checking oncoming traffic sufficiently enough, and pulling out into the path of a motorcyclist, and causing a collision.
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Road Accident Personal Injury Claims – The Defence of Low Velocity Impact and Fraud

Road traffic accident (RTA) claims are one of the most well known types of claims to injury lawyers and to the general public. The claims are highly publicised on television, radio and in newspapers as personal injury lawyers compete for your business in a highly competitive market.

RTA’s can of course happen in many different circumstances from the classic rear end shunt to accidents at roundabouts to accidents caused as a result of vehicles changing lanes. As with any RTA claim, the insurer representing the Defendant will investigate the claim and decide whether to accept liability (fault) or dispute liability on behalf of their insured.
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Following recent stints of bad weather, the highways are easily affected. Pot holes are increasing in size and numbers, generally in winter months.

When a highway authority, such as a council, undertakes to repair work on highways, they are responsible for making sure that the work is carried out safely and efficiently. They are also responsible for ensuring that the repair work is sufficiently completed and that the highway is returned to its original state / the safest possible state, whilst taking all steps necessary to avoid any hazards to the public.

Some repair work can cause hazards to the public, specifically work that requires excavation of the highway.
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Lifting heavy or awkward objects at work can carry a risk of injury – even if your employer has provided you with appropriate training. However, injury which has been caused by none or insufficient training and awareness means your employer could be liable for any injury that has been caused.

Your employer has a duty to take appropriate steps, to reduce the risk of any injuries. These steps are normally identified in risk assessments for the specific manual handling task you are instructed to undertake.

All employees who have an element of manual handling to their job role, which can range from warehouse workers moving lots of heavy crates to office workers moving boxes of paper or files, should receive reasonable Manual Handling Training. This normally includes showing you how to assess the weight of the load, whether the centre of gravity on the object is central, and how heavy and awkward objects should be lifted, pushed or pulled, including how to bend your body to do so. You also need to take in to account any potential hazards along the route to the destination of the lift. Are there any stairs to climb, for example.
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Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is equipment that is used or worn in the work place in order to avoid hazards that are created by a job. Personal protective equipment includes a variety of things such as safety goggles, ear plugs or protectors, face guards, protective footwear and gloves.

The type of and amount of equipment you will wear in the workplace will depend on the risks involved with your job.

The equipment can protect against minor scuffs and scrapes; however, on a more serious note, it can also protect against diseases caused by asbestos, hearing loss in noisy work places, and vibration white finger when using machinery.
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I can’t tell how many times I have worked on a personal injury claim that involves tripping as a result of a protrusion in the street; whether it is a raised paving slab, loose drain cover, or bit of metal struck it the concrete.  These accidents are every common and can cause significant injury to someone walking along without any knowledge of them.

Tripping accidents are seen mainly as a comical stereotypical claim taken on without a good reason – but it is important to understand that these kinds of accidents can often cause a great deal of pain and suffering to the person involved. Landing hard on a concrete floor can cause broken bones and serious damage to your body. This can involve you having to take time off work and incurring a loss of earnings or missing out on holidays booked, amongst many other inconveniences.

So it’s certainly something that shouldn’t be taken so lightly.
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In this sunny weather we have been having lately, you can imagine how embarrassing it would be after coming home from buying new garden furniture if the chair you just bought collapses from underneath you.

It is not uncommon for people to be injured as a result of these sorts of accidents involving defective products, and in many cases you have to just laugh off the embarrassment; but on occasions you should be contemplating what legal action could be available for you to take if you are injured. By law, any goods purchased should be to satisfactory according to the Sale and Supply of Goods and Services Act.

The Sale and Supply of Goods and Services Act provides the legal basis for ensuring the safety of consumers in the UK. You can also look at the European Product Safety Directive which makes it much easier to pursue a claim against a manufacturer of a product which causes an injury.
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Most people falsely believe that the reason our car insurance is rising so rapidly is as a result of personal injury claims for compensation. We’ve been telling people for years that there are deeper, darker secrets in the insurance world that are truly responsible for the huge increases we have seen over the last few years.

We were delighted when former Justice Secretary Mr Jack Straw brought the insurance companies ‘dirty little secret’ to light about referral fees as the real reason why our premiums were constantly on the rise; and even more delighted that the papers were passed through parliament and we are set to see referral fees banned sometime next April.  Now we have another factor brought to light – again, something we have been fully aware of for a long, long time.

The Background of Referral Fees
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